Student Spotlight: Jessica De La Cruz

Aerospace engineering grad to participate in  NASA summer research program

Jessica De la Cruz graduated from El Camino College with an exemplary GPA, research experience and scholarships. The aerospace engineering grad is now looking forward to transferring to the University of California, Irvine. But before that, she has summer plans – at NASA.

Jessica is one of 280 community college students from across the nation who will travel to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center to participate in the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) onsite experience.

“I’m very excited to start working with NASA this summer,” she said. “This will be my first opportunity to start working in the aerospace industry. I hope this program will help me network and learn from other professionals in the field.”

As an ECC student, Jessica was a member of the Honors Transfer Program and Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement Program (MESA). Both offered support and opportunities for academic enrichment.

“MESA was crucial to help me succeed,” Jessica said. “MESA helped me to meet my goals by fostering a community where I could access tutoring and counseling specialized for science students. With MESA, I was part of an academic community where we could form study groups and excel despite the rigor of our classes.”